Cheap canvas tennis shoes

Back in the 1930s times were tough financially. When I was 10, my family moved from Beaufort to the small town of Swansboro. Our first year there we were so poor we couldn't afford leather shoes like the girls my age were wearing. For our first day of school the only shoes Dad could afford were cheap canvas, ankle-high tennis shoes. With no money for socks, we wore them without socks.

The first day of school I knew I was going to be laughed at. But I was determined not to let it bother me. Sure enough, when two of my classmates first saw my funny-looking shoes they started pointing at them and laughing. I gave them a disdainful look and loudly declared, "Don't you girls know anything about style? This is what all the girls in the city are wearing. And please notice, you don't wear socks with them!"

A couple of weeks later, half the girls walked into class with a new pair of tennis shoes on: without socks!